A biscuit, in most English speaking countries, is a flour-based baked and shaped food item. Biscuits are typically hard, flat, and unleavened. They are usually sweet and may be made with sugar, chocolate, icing, jam, ginger, or cinnamon. They can also be savoury, similar to crackers. Types of biscuit include sandwich biscuits, digestive biscuits, ginger biscuits, shortbread biscuits, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate-coated marshmallow treats, Anzac biscuits, biscotti, and speculaas.
A spiced bun is a sweet bun to which spices were added during the baking process. Common examples are the hot cross bun and the Jamaican spiced bun.
A semla, vastlakukkel, laskiaispulla, Swedish eclair, fastlagsbulle/fastelavnsbolle or vēja kūkas is a traditional sweet roll made in various forms in Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Estonia, and Latvia, associated with Lent and especially Shrove Tuesday in most countries, Shrove Monday in Denmark, parts of southern Sweden, Iceland and Faroe Islands or Sunday of Fastelavn in Norway. In Sweden it is most commonly known as just semla, but is also known as fettisdagsbulle, lit. 'Fat Tuesday bun' or 'Shrove Tuesday bun'. In the southern parts of Sweden, as well as in Swedish-speaking Finland, it is known as fastlagsbulle. In Poland it is known as ptyś. In Estonia it is called vastlakukkel. In Norway and Denmark it is called fastelavnsbolle. In Iceland, it is known as a bolla and served on Bolludagur. In Faroe Islands it is called Føstulávintsbolli, and is served on Føstulávintsmánadagur. In Latvia, it is called vēja kūkas. Semla served in a bowl of hot milk is hetvägg.
Fruitcake or fruit cake is a cake made with candied or dried fruit, nuts, and spices, and optionally soaked in spirits. In the United Kingdom, certain rich versions may be iced and decorated.
A cinnamon roll is a sweet roll commonly served in Northern Europe and North America. In Sweden it is called kanelbulle, in Denmark it is known as kanelsnegl, in Norway it is known as kanelbolle, skillingsbolle, kanelsnurr, or kanel i svingene, in Finland it is known as korvapuusti, in Iceland it is known as kanilsnúður, and in Estonia it is known as kaneelirull. In Austria and Germany, it is called Zimtschnecke.
A rusk is a hard, dry biscuit or a twice-baked bread. It is sometimes used as a teether for babies. In some cultures, rusk is made of cake, rather than bread: this is sometimes referred to as cake rusk. In the UK, the name also refers to a wheat-based food additive.
Czech cuisine has both influenced and been influenced by the cuisines of surrounding countries and nations. Many of the cakes and pastries that are popular in Central Europe originated within the Czech lands. Contemporary Czech cuisine is more meat-based than in previous periods; the current abundance of farmable meat has enriched its presence in regional cuisine. Traditionally, meat has been reserved for once-weekly consumption, typically on weekends.
A teacake in England is generally a light yeast-based sweet bun containing dried fruit, typically served toasted and buttered. In the U.S. teacakes can be cookies or small cakes. In Sweden, they are soft, round, flat wheat breads made with milk and a little sugar, and used to make buttered ham or cheese sandwiches. In India and Australia, a teacake is more like a butter cake. Tea refers to the popular beverage to which these baked goods are an accompaniment.
Chorley cakes are flattened, fruit filled pastry cakes, traditionally associated with the town of Chorley in Lancashire, England.
Lardy cake, also known as lardy bread, lardy Johns, dough cake and fourses cake, is a traditional rich spiced form of bread found in several southern counties of England, each claiming to provide the original recipe. It remains a popular weekend tea cake in the southern counties of England, including Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Dorset and Gloucestershire.
Cozonac or Kozunak is a sweet yeast dough that can be used to make different traditional holiday breads and cakes. Often mixed with raisins, it can be baked as a loaf or rolled out with fillings like poppy seed or walnuts. It is common throughout Southeastern Europe in countries such as Romania, Moldova, Bulgaria, Serbia, North Macedonia and Greece. Rich in eggs, milk and butter, it is usually prepared for Easter in Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria, and in Romania and Moldova it is also traditional for Good Friday, in a simplified version with vegan ingredients, without eggs or milk - named Cozonac de post - to be eaten by Christians during lent. The name comes from the Bulgarian word for hair-коса/kosa, or Greek: κοσωνάκι, romanized: kosōnáki, a diminutive form of κοσώνα, kosṓna.
Saffron is a key seasoning, fragrance, dye, and medicine in use for over three millennia. One of the world's most expensive spices by weight, saffron consists of stigmas plucked from the vegetatively propagated and sterile Crocus sativus, known popularly as the saffron crocus. The resulting dried stigmas, also known as "threads", are distinguished by their bitter taste, hay-like fragrance, and slight metallic notes. The saffron crocus is unknown in the wild; its most likely precursor, Crocus cartwrightianus, originated in Crete or Central Asia; The saffron crocus is native to Southwest Asia and was first cultivated in what is now Greece.
Cardamom breads, including the Finnish pulla and Swedish kardemummabröd and kardemummabullar, are a group of enriched breads or pastry flavored with cardamom. They are eaten throughout the year, typically with coffee or tea.
A currant bun is a European sweet bun that contains currants or raisins.
A rock cake, also called a rock bun, is a small cake with a rough surface resembling a rock. They were promoted by the British Ministry of Food during the Second World War since they require fewer eggs and less sugar than ordinary cakes, an important savings in a time of strict rationing. Traditional recipes bulked them with oatmeal, which was more readily available than white flour.
The holiday of Easter is associated with various Easter customs and foodways. Preparing, coloring, and decorating Easter eggs is one such popular tradition. Lamb is eaten in many countries, mirroring the Jewish Passover meal.
A Heißwecke, HICE-veck-ə,, also called a Heißewecke or Hedewig, is a traditional type of currant bun within the German-speaking region of Europe that goes back to at least to the Late Middle Ages. In North and Northwest Germany it is eaten before the beginning of the pre-Easter fasting period known as Lent, especially from Rose Monday (Rosenmontag) to Ash Wednesday (Aschermittwoch). It is a sweet bread roll made with milk and wheat flour that is eaten hot, hence the name: Heißwecken literally means "hot rolls". Heißwecken are predominantly eaten in the area influenced by the Hanseatic League i.e. most of northern Europe from what is now the Netherlands to Poland and the Baltic Sea coast. It has numerous dialectical names that are almost all derived from the term Heißwecken. The most common are Hedewäggen, Hetwegge, Heiteweggen and Heetwich.
